GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Luke 6:43-49
Jesus said to his disciples:
“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.
For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,
nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,
but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;
for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?
I will show you what someone is like who comes to me,
listens to my words, and acts on them.
That one is like a man building a house,
who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock;
when the flood came, the river burst against that house
but could not shake it because it had been well built.
But the one who listens and does not act
is like a person who built a house on the ground
without a foundation.
When the river burst against it,
it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”
The Word of the Lord
Fruits of the Heart
In this Gospel the Lord speaks to us very plainly: the fruits we bear reveal the true state of our heart. Our deeds and our words are the reflection of what we carry within. What fruits are we producing? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness? Or, on the contrary, discord, envy, hostility, impurity, division, rivalry?
Spouses, to bear good fruit we must fill our hearts with what is good; and if we want to bear fruits of love, we must fill our hearts with love — true love, the Love of God. And for this, Jesus also gives us the formula: draw near to Him, listen to His Word, and put it into practice. Only by fulfilling these three conditions can we build our marriage and our family upon solid rock. If even one is missing, we build on sand.
But if we fill our hearts with the Love of God, that Love will overflow and produce extraordinary fruits in our marriage and in our family. What are we waiting for to let ourselves be filled with the Love of God?
Applied to married life
Abby: What are you thinking about, Matt? You seem miles away.
Matt: No, nothing, Abby… well, just how to organise myself so I can go to my team’s match this afternoon. You know I like going to the court with my friends.
Abby: Oh honestly… you’re always thinking about football. What have you filled your heart with? If you like, to find out what’s in our hearts, I suggest we both go over what we’ve talked about yesterday and today. I’ll do it too. And let’s see what comes out. What do you think?
Matt: Alright, sounds like a good idea, could be helpful. Let’s see… I’ve talked about things from work, politics, economics, sport… phew! Looks like my heart is full of the things of this world.
Abby: I was talking with my colleagues at work about fashion and criticising some people. And at home I’ve been focused on the children’s tasks and keeping everything tidy… Goodness, I’m realising that my heart is also full of the things of this world.
Matt: We’ve hardly spoken about love, or about God. We haven’t thanked Him, we haven’t praised Him… We haven’t made any effort to help each other draw closer to Him, we haven’t gone deeper into one another to understand more of God’s plans for us. I can see my heart is dry. Like this, it can’t bear good fruit — not for you, not for the children, not for anyone…
Abby: We can’t carry on like this. We need to set ourselves a timetable and reserve time so we don’t miss the most important part of the day: filling our hearts with what is good. Praying more. And not failing in our conjugal prayer.
Matt: Well then, that’s settled. From this very moment — let’s get to it!
Mother,
Teach us to empty our hearts of the things of the world so that we may fill them with God, like you, and thus bear fruits of Love. Blessed and glorious are you, Mother! May the Lord be praised for ever!